Bottled brands also put to the test

April 17, 2008|By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz and Michael Hawthorne, TRIBUNE REPORTERS and Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz is a reporter for the Tribune's RedEye edition. Michael Hawthorne is a Tribune reporter.

Bottled water companies say their high-tech treatment systems produce consistently clean, good-tasting water that's free of any impurities -- including unregulated pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals that have been found in tap water.

A Tribune/RedEye investigation found that samples of the three top-selling bottled water brands in Chicago did not contain any of the chemicals tested for.

Bottled water is not directly subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which regulates public drinking water. But it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which has similar standards.

Unlike drinking water utilities, bottled water companies do not have to report test results to the public.

Bottled water companies, like tap water providers, aren't required by the government to test for pharmaceuticals. Two bottled water companies said they test for pharmaceuticals but would not provide details about their testing.

The Tribune and RedEye tested the region's three top brands: Nestle's Ice Mountain, Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola's Dasani.

Ice Mountain water is drawn from a spring in Mecosta, Mich.. It is passed through microfilters to remove particles and through ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, Nestle says.

The company tests Ice Mountain for pharmaceuticals, said Kevin Mathews, director of health and environmental affairs for Nestle Waters North America. He declined to provide results.Representatives for Aquafina and Dasani say their multi-step purification systems eliminate all contaminants in their bottled water.

Aquafina, which in the Chicago area comes from Munster, Ind., tap water, is treated in a seven-step purification system that includes filtration, reverse osmosis, charcoal filtration and ozonization, the company says.

Dasani, which in the Chicago market is tap water pulled from suburban Alsip and Niles, undergoes a similar process. Minerals are added for taste, the company says.

Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley said Aquafina tests for pharmaceuticals, but she declined to provide any details or test results, saying the "manufacturing, quality assurance and analytical processes are proprietary."

Dasani does not test its water for pharmaceuticals, Coca-Cola spokesman Ray Crockett said.